It’s a second honour in as many weeks for Fiat Powertrain Technologies, which designed and developed the revolutionary unit – last month FPT’s award-winning MultiAir engine was recognised by influential US magazine Popular Science.

In these latest honours the Top Gear judges described the TwinAir engine as: “A little bundle of energy, charm and downright saintliness to prove our good old friend the gasoline engine is still alive and very much kicking...”

Weighing just 85kg, and with figures of 95g/km of CO2, this ground-breaking engine has the lowest emissions of any quantity production petrol engine. Its 85bhp makes the Fiat 500 TwinAir a powerful mainstream A-segment vehicle, while its 145Nm of torque means it’s responsive and fun-to-drive too. Compared with Fiat’s best-selling 1.2-litre petrol engine in the Fiat 500, the TwinAir delivers 23 per cent more power yet combines this with a 15 per cent reduction in CO2 emissions and fuel consumption.

“We were confident when we launched the TwinAir engine that our customers would like the combination of power, low emissions and fun to drive,” says Elena Bernardelli, marketing director, Fiat Group Automobiles UK and Ireland. “So it’s an added pleasure when experts from the motoring media also give us such high praise. I am sure that TwinAir will secure many more honours in the future.”